Reply #40: I'll take a shot at intellectual honesty. [View All]

[Admiral Loinpresser]

First let me state my position:

I think Gore is the clear choice for our party, our country and our planet.

And I object to her as the nominee. I believe her disingenuous IWR vote and many others disqualify her as a good candidate at a time when our civilization is in crisis, and thus we need a great one. I do believe she is qualified to be a senator and I hope she remains there for a long time.

Having said all of that, I believe there are many good things to say about Hillary:

1. She's a very effective politician;
2. She has shown career-long committment to important issues such as children's health, etc.;
3. She's extremely gifted and a very hard worker; and
4. She has worked effectively with both sides of the aisle and is well respected in the Senate and by senior military officers.

Also, what you say about the RW attacks since 1992 is true and well documented by dailyhowler.com and elsewhere.

She showed tremendous courage in tackling universal health care against massive RW opposition.

Now as to my opposition of her candidacy. I believe her vote in favor of the IWR was craven. In other words, she knew what she was doing and chose perceived presidential viability over the moral course when American and Iraqi blood was on the line. In other words, I believe she "flunked" her Profile-in-Courage moment. As a result, I am not confident of her ability to step up and do what must be done, if elected. That is, mobilize the planet to a war footing against global warming. I just don't believe she has that level of committment.

In contradistinction, Gore has passed his Profile-in-Courage moments with flying colors. One of the most memorable was his courageous opposition to the Iraqi invasion when he was the putative nominee for 2004 (i.e. his September 2002 speech in San Francisco). Another is when he flew to Kyoto in 1997 to save the stalled treaty talks at a time when his political advisers strongly advised him not to do so, saying he was risking his presidential ambitions in 2000.

I hope that clarifies my feelings and demonstrates that I'm not a Hillary "hater." Sometimes I become intemperate in my repsonses, but those are usually on a pro-Gore thread, when someone boosts another candidate or attacks Gore.

In conclusion, if she is the nominee, I will most likely vote for her because the GOP is so bad, Supreme Court nominations are vital, etc. But having said that, hope that my children will thrive or even survive, will be greatly diminished if Gore is not the next POTUS. I believe the correct choice both morally and pragmatically, is Gore.